Executive summary

Telecoms sector becomes increasingly important to Kuwait’s economy

Kuwait offers a dynamic telecoms sector with a strong bias towards mobile infrastructure and services. The country offers opportunities due to its high penetration of mobile and vast LTE coverage - combined with an emerging mobile content and services sector.

The mobile operators in Kuwait are forging ahead and developing both infrastructure and services, with the three major operators of Zain Kuwait, VIVA and Ooredoo all offering LTE services as well as exploring 5G opportunities. In March 2017 Zain Kuwait and VIVA, in conjunction with Huawei and GSMA, successfully launched a VoLTE interconnection in Kuwait.

Kuwait has demonstrated strong growth in Internet users due primarily to the high ownership of smart phones amongst the population as well as a large number of households with access to either a computer or tablet.

The telecoms sector is growing in importance in Kuwait as the country looks to diversify its economy from its reliance on oil. The National Bank of Kuwait recently detected a year-on-year growth in profit contributed by the telecom sector.

Key developments:

• Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) is an important and influential investment company in Kuwait. KIPCO has been a major player in the Kuwaiti communications industry.

• With mobile penetration at high levels, focus has shifted to the mobile data market. All three operators have upgraded networks to support faster downlink speeds and are increasingly focused on mobile content and applications.

• The launch of the new Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) took place in February 2016 and in 2017 continues to establish its role.